Kratos in Danger
by Twilight Scribe
Summary: When Raine first asked to examine his wings and Cruxis Crystal Kratos almost consented, but that was before he noticed the ominous gleam of the scalpel she held palmed and, to her reckoning, hidden at her side.
1. Kratos in Danger

Disclaimer: Not mine.

AN: I see this occurring once Kratos returns to your party after the duel in Torent Forest. The idea/inspiration itself came from a joint effort of Sora no Hoshi and Penamesolen to get me to write a "Kratos in Danger" chapter for Z-Skit Theater. Thanks for the idea guys, I hope it's as good as you were expecting!

* * *

Now he knew, it couldn't be more clear. He finally understood the reason that, after the incident in the Tower of Salvation, she never took her eyes off him whenever they met, no matter how charged the situation got. Relieved though he was that her attentions weren't the product of a lingering crush or those of a woman scorned, the interest still terrified him, and with good reason.

Once his wings came out he ceased to be 'Kratos Aurion, Mysterious Sword-for-Hire' and became 'Kratos Aurion, Ancient Hero and Seraphim of Cruxis.' In other words, he became by far the most fantastic, marvelous biological specimen available to Raine in both worlds; a truly dangerous position to be in.

When she first asked to examine his wings and Cruxis Crystal he almost consented, but that was before he noticed the ominous gleam of the scalpel she held palmed and, to her reckoning, hidden at her side. It was at times like those when he loved his enhanced angelic senses the most, they were so useful when it came to keeping out of trouble. However, acute as they might be, his senses couldn't keep him out of danger all the time. Especially not when being pursued by a tenacious, half-elven maniac like Raine.

The moment Kratos discovered her intentions to all but perform a vivisection on him, he took to the air, easily soaring up out of her reach. It was a perfect and surprisingly simple escape, aside from one minor hitch: He forgot, but Raine had a Rheaird. The look on his face when she rose up level with him in the air openly brandishing her scalpel, as she would tell him later, was beyond priceless, and was documented thanks to a tiny bit of Tethe'allan photographic technology she had acquired in Altamira. (A disposable camera with a built-in, mana-powered, automatic flash. What a wondrous invention!)

That was several hours ago and, as Kratos discovered, eluding Raine was becoming quite difficult. Flying slowly drained his mana and, though he could hover in one spot indefinitely, the energy required to propel himself faster than a Rheaird was taxing. He was quickly growing fatigued while she rode a tireless machine. It got to a point where Kratos expected that when he looked over his shoulder he would see not only Raine barreling after him, but his wings blinking in and out of existence as well. Not wishing to fall to his death (as it would be far too embarrassing an end for a being with wings), and hoping to preserve strength enough to defend himself, he located a spit of land along the coastline and began to descend. Raine would follow, as he was well aware, and though he was loath to harm his son's teacher, Kratos Aurion would not go quietly! Or so he thought.

In his haste, Kratos slightly misjudged his energy reserves. The last of his expendable mana ran out while he was still in the air, approximately ten feet above the ground. There was still enough left in his body to keep him for dying and the fall, though unpleasant, didn't end him, but his body informed him very firmly that if he tried anything else he would certainly die and refused to move. Raine arrived just minutes after.

"You're lucky I saw where you fell, Kratos. What happened? Are you low on mana?" Taking the swordsman's inarticulate grunt as an affirmative she set to healing him. First Aid only though, she didn't want him running off again. "I see, so I was correct. Angelic wings are made of pure mana and siphon energy away from the rest of the body to generate lift. Fascinating... I'll inspect them later, after you've rested and regained your energy. As for now I'll just..."

Kratos flinched or, more accurately, tried to flinch away from the mad professor as she pulled out her scalpel but found he was still hopelessly immobile. With few other options, he heaved a resigned sigh.

"Fine, do it already. Just be sure to anesthetize me first." He tensed as she grabbed his sword arm, lightly tapping various spots with the edge of the scalpel, as if trying to decide the best place to make the first incision. At the first touch of cold steel, Kratos gritted his teeth. She wasn't even going to knock him out. A single strong blow to the head with her staff would do it at this point, but it seemed Raine planned to work while he was still awake. _'This,'_ he thought, _'will be unpleasant.'_

"Stop being so dramatic, Kratos. It's only a blood sample. A little prick on the finger and we're done. Honestly, you're worse than Lloyd when I have to give him his immunizations! There." Kratos felt her release his arm and opened his eyes to see she was telling the truth. A tiny nick on his finger seeped a few drops of blood, but was quickly clotting. In Raine's hand was a small glass vial that held several more drops and her scalpel was nowhere to be seen. "That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

"I suppose not." Kratos' voice was rough and scratchy, but returning. The brief rest while Raine took his blood, stressful though it was, restored his energy enough that he could struggle into a loose, cross-legged sit. "It certainly wasn't worth flying across the world to escape from, though I never would have run from you if you only explained yourself before lunging at me with a scalpel." Raine threw him a curious look.

"If I may ask, what exactly did you think I was going to do to you? You seemed quite agitated."

Realizing that "I thought you were going to slice me open and divine from my entrails" would be a bad response, Kratos simply cleared his throat and quietly stated "I've heard stories from Noishe."

-x-

The Rheaird ride back to camp was relatively quiet. Kratos sat on the back, nursing an Elixir and rather embarrassed about how greatly he overreacted. Raine drove, anxious to get back to her equipment and begin testing Kratos' blood. If she waited too long it would begin to clot, and while she could always procure more it seemed a shame to waste the sample she had worked so hard for. After what seemed like an eternity of near-silence, Raine spoke up.

"You realize I'm still going to examine your wings and Cruxis Crystal when we land, right?" She sensed him tense up again and hastily added, "No scalpels this time, I promise."

There was a slight pause and another resigned sigh before she felt Kratos relax slightly. Raine could tell without looking that the swordsman was holding a hand to his forehead in exasperation as he ruefully muttered "Very well, as you wish." Grinning impishly to herself, Raine knew there was only one way to properly respond to that.

"Marvelous! Of course, I have more tools than scalpels..."

Glancing back over her shoulder to check on her passenger, she noted that Kratos once again looked very scared.

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AN: Yes, Raine can be rather... Overzealous when it comes to her research, this is true. But we have to remember she can also be calm, collected, and rational about her studies as well. That said, I still love the image of Kratos flying away with Raine on his heels in her Rheaird, madly waving a scalpel.


	2. EXTRA: Lloyd's Worst Fear

Disclaimer: Not mine.

AN: Uh-oh... I let the genie out of the bottle, now I can't put it back in. Here's an extra drabble-thing that won't get out of my head after I foolishly mentioned it in the oneshot you just read and (hopefully) loved.

* * *

"No, no! Get off me!" Lloyd thrashed against the arms holding him down but strong as he was, he couldn't fight off every man in Iselia at once. Not unarmed and tired after a whole day of eluding capture, that is. "Tell them to let me go, Professor! Professor Sage!" Dirk, Frank, the guards and priests from the Martel Temple, even the Mayor and the guy who ran the Halo pitched in to detain the flailing teen. Lloyd didn't have a chance. When he noticed what day it was he ran to the woods and spent the better part of the morning hiding out, but, as always, the men found him and dragged him back to town, kicking and screaming, to face Raine.

"Stop struggling, Lloyd! You need to get your shots. You know how you hate getting sick!" Dirk shouted, tightening his grip on Lloyd's arms. Even with the strength of a dwarven blacksmith, the boy was a handful.

"Quit being such a baby, Lloyd. It's only a shot!" Genis sat off to the side of the classroom in an empty desk. The other children had been sent home after receiving their immunizations, but he and Colette decided to stay after as moral support for their best friend.

"It's really not that bad, just a pinch and then you're done. The Professor even has lollipops for us this time, I got a green one!" Somehow, Colette's cheerful reassurance did little to calm Lloyd down. If anything, he started to fight back harder. He really hated to have Genis and Colette see him like this, but there was no way Lloyd was going to let Raine have her way. No shots! He'd fight until the very end!

"I don't care! I hate needles and I don't need any shots! Now: Let! Me! Go!" His eyes grew wide as Raine approached, a vaccine-filled hypodermic syringe in her hand. Its thin needle flashed coldly in the afternoon sun. Lloyd swore it had to be at least a foot long.

"Honestly Lloyd, you're overreacting. Look, Genis and Colette both got their immunizations and they're just fine. Now hold still. If you're squirming, I may accidentally inject in the wrong spot."

"Nooooooooo!"

-x-

Lloyd sat unhappily in a desk across from Genis and Colette, a hand on his sore bicep and a frown on his face. Raine had put a cheerful, kendama-patterned band-aid over the tiny wound and given him a lollipop for being "such a good sport." It didn't improve his mood in the least.

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AN: Yep, I mention Lloyd being afraid of shots just as a wry side comment from Raine and this is where it gets me. He does seem like one to despise getting them though, doesn't he? I have to admit, I'm the same way. Even now, I still hate shots. Syringes creep me out, even the little plastic ones used in cake decorating.


	3. Kratos' Secret

Disclaimer: Don't own.

AN: Gaaaaaah... Gotta hurry and post this before I change my mind again! Here's a continuation of chapter one to make this one-shot a two-shot. (Or is it a three-shot? Do we count extras in that tally?) Shiankumo Bani gave me a good dose of inspiration about what might have happened after Raine and Kratos arrived back at camp, so here it is!

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Despite Kratos' earlier... Reluctance to Raine's plan, the examination went quite well. Once she was able to convince the mercenary to cooperate, the data started rolling in. Kratos' Cruxis Crystal had already yielded some interesting results, but his wings were absolutely fascinating and Raine was determined to make them give up their secrets. The average mana density in each feather, the maximum number of wingbeats per minute, and the responsiveness of each wing to neural stimuli (to see if, like hands, there was a dominant wing) were only a small fraction of the various tests and experiments she performed; jotting every observation down in her notes, no matter how minor.

All her success, Raine was convinced, stemmed from their chase earlier. It was shocking to see just how effective exhaustion and the implied threat of unspeakably ghastly unknown medical instruments were in securing Kratos' assistance. The proud swordsman hadn't complained about a single request so far and he had done every inane thing she asked him to, like flap his wings, with a graciously helpful attitude that Raine was sure she didn't deserve after chasing the man down with a scalpel.

The greatest coup, at least in her eyes, was convincing Kratos to take off his cape and vest so she could examine the area where his wings joined his body, something she had never seen before. It was her crowning achievement because not only did she actually get him to comply, but Raine managed to do it without the aid of something sharp.

-x-

Kratos sat, cross-legged on the bedroll in Raine's tent, waiting patiently as the half-elf studied the juncture between his wings and the muscles of his back. Whatever she was trying to determine, it was taking her quite some time. The fact that she, thankfully, retired her scalpel once they returned to camp did much to ease his mind, but old instincts kept him uncomfortable with his back unprotected; and he was growing more nervous by the second. What could possibly be holding her interest this long? Kratos knew that, since they were a part of his body, he was more than a little jaded when it came to wings, but they really weren't that important!

His steadily-increasing tension did not serve him well. Especially not when Raine decided it was time to take a more hands-on approach to her information gathering and prodded him at the base of his left wing, right where mana meets flesh.

Kratos twitched, almost spasmodically, and Raine couldn't help but wonder why. Curious, she poked the base of his other wing and got the same response, plus an irritated glare.

"Raine..." Kratos growled, the do-that-again-and-I'm-leaving sentiment clear in his voice, but Raine was the picture of clinical professionalism.

"That was quite a severe reaction, Kratos." She raised an eyebrow, her tone adding an unspoken "Care to explain?" onto the end of her statement. Kratos was silent for a moment then grabbed his vest and cape, explaining himself as he dressed.

"The constant presence of mana at the base of my wings causes the skin there to be very sensitive. Any contact is quite..." Kratos winced, as if saying the word physically hurt. "Ticklish."

Kratos... Ticklish? Kratos, the stoic mercenary and Seraph of Cruxis, was ticklish? The thought was so outlandish Raine couldn't help but laugh. It was just too bizarre. Kratos didn't appreciate it.

"Tell no one!" When Raine was unable stop laughing even long enough to answer, Kratos just turned on his heel and stalked out of the tent with a long-suffering 'hmph.' She wouldn't reveal his secret, would she? Raine was mature. She had the discretion to keep this embarrassing little factoid to herself, right? He couldn't be sure, but at least he knew he could count on a having few more hours before he was at risk of losing another shred of dignity. After all, Raine wouldn't be able to say anything to anyone until she stopped giggling.

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AN: Ever have someone just, out of the blue, run up and jab you HARD in the ribs? Annoying, isn't it?


End file.
